Unity Wins Memorable Battle of D3 Best
November 3, 2018
By Keith Dunlap
Special for Second Half
NOVI – Hudsonville Unity Christian junior Jordan Bruckbauer was likely the only player on his team who remembered his first goal of the 2018 season, which came earlier this fall before the playoffs began.
But it’s a safe bet nobody on his team, or anyone else in the Unity Christian athletic program, will ever forget his second.
With 7:09 remaining in the first half of overtime of the MHSAA Division 3 championship game, Bruckbauer simply saw an opportunity and pounced on it.
The ball was loose in the box, Bruckbauer won the race to it, and volleyed the ball into the goal to give No. 2 Unity Christian a 2-1 lead over No. 1 Grosse Ile.
Bruckbauer’s second goal of the year turned out to be the championship-clincher, as
Unity Christian added an insurance goal during the second half of overtime en route to a 3-1 victory.
It was Unity Christian’s first MHSAA Finals championship since 2014.
“I always kind of picture in my head doing something great,” Bruckbauer said. “But then sometimes it never really happens. Having it happen is a dream come true. It’s indescribable.”
Unity Christian (23-2-1) had to rally against a Grosse Ile team that was hard to score on in 2018.
Grosse Ile took a 1-0 lead with 3:24 left in the first half on a goal by senior Christian Drzyzga, who fired a shot from roughly 25 yards out that deflected off a defender and into the goal.
At that point, it wasn’t illogical to think that would be the game winner, since Grosse Ile had a run of 21 straight shutouts during the regular season and had given up just one goal during the MHSAA tournament going into the game.
But Unity Christian answered less than a minute later, as junior Kadin Shaban got fouled while pursuing a loose ball in the box and converted the ensuing penalty kick to tie the game at 1-1 with 2:42 left in the first half.
The second half didn’t yield many quality scoring chances on net, and the only real close call before Bruckbauer’s goal came early in overtime when Shaban hit the post on a free kick from 30 yards out.
Then, Bruckbauer jumped on the loose ball and put Unity Christian in control.
“I just saw an opportunity and wanted to capitalize,” Bruckbauer said. “I wasn’t a big goal scorer on the year, but saw a chance and wanted to capitalize.”
Unity Christian put the game away with 7:18 left on a goal by Shaban, who took advantage of a gambling defense that had players up the field by going on a mini breakaway, shielding the lone defender back from the ball and then chipping a shot over the keeper’s head to make it 3-1.
It was Shaban’s 31st goal of the season.
“Two evenly matched teams going at it, and both teams defended really well,” Unity Christian head coach Randy Heethuis said. “It was good for us to score right after they scored to tie it up. In the second half, we thought we were really putting some pressure on them at the end of the game. We wanted to start out hard and fast in overtime. Credit to Jordan for getting the biggest goal of his life.”
Grosse Ile finished its season 27-2, with its only other loss coming to Detroit U-D Jesuit.
“They are very similar to U-D in their size and athleticism,” Grosse Ile head coach Jon Evans said. “We knew it was going to be a battle. They won a lot of 50-50 balls, and a lot of that can change games. They then got on the end of a couple (chances).”
PHOTOS: (Top) Unity Christian players climb to the front of the stands to celebrate winning Saturday’s Division 3 Final. (Middle) Grosse Ile’s Jacob Sawicki works to get past Unity Christian's Zach DeVries.
Grayling, High-Scoring Senior Off to Fast Start, Setting Sights Higher
By
Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com
September 8, 2023
Grayling is not normally mentioned among the contenders for the Lake Michigan Conference soccer championship.
Nor have deep postseason runs been expected.
All that may be changing. The Vikings are making it known they will challenge the likes of Elk Rapids, Harbor Springs and Charlevoix for the league title, with Kalkaska hoping to contend in the LMC as well.
Grayling is scoring goals. The Vikings (7-1) won their first seven contests this year scoring a combined 46 goals in the process. They picked up wins over Ogemaw Heights and Mount Pleasant along the way. They also won an early-season tournament they hosted.
Senior Mitchell Harrington is leading the way with 25 goals and eight assists.
“Mitch wasn’t on the radar last year preseason,” acknowledged Grayling coach Andy Moore. “He came back late preseason and then of course he gets all-state honorable mention last year as a junior.”
As a freshman Harrington played mostly defense for the Vikings. He switched to football his sophomore year. He came back to soccer last season and scored 26 goals and picked up five assists.
Now he has the single-season school scoring record in his sights along with challenging for the conference title and leading the Vikings into the postseason.
Harrington is helping put the Vikings as a team on the radar screen too. They are coming off a 9-12-1 finish last year. They were 8-12-1 in 2021 and 12-6-1 in 2020, Moore’s first year at the helm.
Harrington is widely acclaimed for his speed and ability to put the ball in the net. Opposing coaches know they can never rest with a lead knowing Harrington is dangerous and can make the game interesting with his quick strikes.
“Mitch is a good kid,” Moore said of his senior star. “He’s a class act, and that’s what we tell these kids to be.”
Harrington is surrounded by talented soccer players, Moore is quick to say.
“We have a good supporting cast,” Moore asserted.
Junior Drake Dunham has six goals and 11 assists. Senior Alex Moore has contributed five goals and four assists, and sophomore Brody Cobb has six goals and an assist.
Center back Grant Dunham, also a junior, leads the defense in front of sophomore Jordan Peters, who gained valuable experience in net last year.
“For me, it starts with our center defender Grant Dunham,” Moore said. “And, Jordan is an amazing keeper.”
Grayling suffered its first loss of the season Thursday to perennial champ Elk Rapids. The Elks blew open a 1-1 second-half tie with five goals over the final 25 minutes of the contest. Harrington scored the Vikings’ lone goal.
“We had a learning experience,” Moore said of his team’s first loss. “We’ve got to adjust and move on and get ready for Harbor Springs.
“We’ve got to move forward as a team and get better.”
The Vikings will play next at Harbor Springs on Sept. 12. They get to host both Harbor and the Elks later in the season. They also will play Kalkaska in a home and home. The Blazers tied Harbor on Thursday and are off to a 1-0-1 league and 4-1-2 overall start.
Harrington has high hopes of keeping the Vikings in the league race as he reaches for the school’s scoring record. The bar is set at 42.
“Mitch is aiming for the school record,” Moore pointed out. “He should get it, but we’ll see.”
Elk Rapids remains the measuring stick for much of the league, but especially Grayling’s fourth-year coach.
“Elk Rapids is the team where you want to be,” Moore said. “I always tell the kids this is the team you want to beat and want to compete against.
“Mentally, I think we’re there,” he continued. “I thought last year in the Districts we were there mentally as well, but we played nervous and fouled (and) gave up two early penalty kicks.”
The Elks defeated Grayling 5-2 last year in that contest on their way to the District and Regional titles. Harrington had both goals.
The Vikings, who will host the District tournament including both Elk Rapids and Kalkaska this fall, aren’t really surprised to be off to a 7-1 start.
“We kind of expected it a little bit with what we’ve been building on the last couple years,” Moore said. “We’re excited.
“We beat a couple of quality teams in Ogemaw Heights and Mount Pleasant,” Moore continued. “We feel pretty good about ourselves.”
Tom Spencer is a longtime MHSAA-registered basketball and soccer official, and former softball and baseball official, and he also has coached in the northern Lower Peninsula area. He previously has written for the Saginaw News, Bay County Sports Page and Midland Daily News. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Grayling, including Caleb Baker (2), Ben Gardiner (13), Mitchel Harrington (4) and Gibsen Barnett (10), is off to a 7-1 start. (Middle) Harrington and Alex Moore (12) work to control possession against Charlevoix this season. (Below) Grant Dunham drives the ball downfield. (Photos by Stacy Moore.)